#nikkei asia

[skyandpeople]

[carlocarrasco]

Housing companies in Japan seek more workers from the Philippines and other nations

Housing companies located in Japan are looking towards the Philippines and other countries as sources of workers that can be hired for their services in connection with the surging local demand, according to a Nikkei Asia news report. To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Nikkei Asia news report. Some parts in boldface… Companies in Japan that offer housekeeping…

[banmaihong]

Nikkei: Apple chuyển hướng sản xuất iPad sang Việt Nam

Truyền thông Nhật Bản Nikkei Asia hôm thứ Sáu (8/12) đưa tin, ‘gã khổng lồ’ điện thoại thông minh Mỹ Apple đang chuyển nguồn lực phát triển sản phẩm iPad sang Việt Nam. Ảnh: NYC Russ/ Shutterstock Nguồn tin cho biết Apple đang hợp tác với một trong những đối tác Trung Quốc là BYD để chuyển nguồn giới thiệu sản phẩm mới (NPI) sang Việt Nam. BYD là hãng xe hơi Trung Quốc nhưng cũng lắp ráp sản phẩm…

[0613magazine]

032423 Nikkei Asia

For BTS's Jimin, music transcends language barriers

South Korean singer releases solo album that peers deep into his soul

TOKYO -- BTS member Jimin will release his debut solo album "Face" on Friday, marking a milestone since the sensational South Korean boy band decided to concentrate on their solo projects and the oldest member, Jin, was conscripted into the military last December.

In a recent written interview with Nikkei, Jimin divulged the creative muses that went into his new album. He also talks about how music is powerful enough to transcend national borders and languages, and lays out how BTS aims to stage a comeback in 2025.

Edited excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: How did you prepare for the release of your "Face" debut solo album?

A: I worked on "Face" while looking back on the time during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as on my own self. I began actively working on the album from the start of 2022. One of the things that pushed me to do the album was [BTS] members suggesting I try expressing my various thoughts and feelings into music.

Just knowing that my album is about to be released worldwide has made me so nervous that I feel like I'm trembling. It's my first solo album and I wonder how people would react to it. ... But the tension feels great.

Q: You said this album will express your true self, but how would you describe the true Jimin?

A: Various emotions will be part of you after going through a variety of experiences in life. I believe that everyone has a deeper aspect of themselves that they don't really want to confront. I made my solo album while peering at the feelings deep within myself.

Even the word "face" can be used as a noun, or as a verb as in "to confront." I want to show my true face and speak to you honestly. For those who are used to seeing the glamorous side of me on stage, this album will show the other side of me, and show me overcoming my loneliness and struggles through music.

Q: Would you mind telling us your goals and your inspirations as a solo artist?

A: For me, everything about this solo album was a way of challenging myself, so I believe this is a different start for me as a singer. So rather than having a very large goal, I want to live up to the feelings of everyone who has high hopes for me. I'd also be glad if those who don't know much about me are able to discover how I've transformed.

Whenever I view the other [BTS] members, they always influence me positively and they're a source of inspiration for music and performing. Lately, I had been given an opportunity to collaborate with Taeyang [the artist also known as Sol in the boy group Big Bang], my longtime role model whom I look up to. It was such a wonderful influence seeing him look far more incredible than I would've imagined.

Q: How do you see the success BTS has achieved since its debut in 2013?

A: Thanks to the support from all our fans, I was able to have an unbelievably dreamlike experience. I don't take anything for granted, whether it is being nominated for a Grammy, or winning the No. 1 spot on Billboard's main Hot 100 chart -- those were all miracles that would not have happened without the "Army" [BTS fans] who love our music and performances.

I think that I need to do my best and live up to the passionate support I have received, which has motivated me to strive and move forward.

Q: The other BTS members are also working on solo projects. How do you enjoy each other's work?

A: The other members were nervous before the release of their solo albums, but they're turning out well. Their music reflects their own individual color, and the performances and the approach to their projects are filled with their own distinct personalities that I personally have fun watching as I support them.

The advice from the members was the catalyst for me to produce my solo album. The words from the members helped me during the production of the album, and for me personally, they also played a role in deciding which direction my album should take, which is reassuring.

Q: What are your thoughts on the power of music?

A: I'm a singer but I'm also a listener, and I receive positive energy and comfort from music. Just like other artists' music has affected how I think and given me strength, I hope people can feel what I feel and resonate with my music. That's what drives me to keep making music.

Music lets us relate to other people at any time, under any circumstance, and reminds us of who we were in those moments. That's the biggest power music has. Music can transcend countries and languages. We saw that firsthand, so we know better than anyone how powerful it can be.

Q: Aside from your new album, what's in store for you in 2023?

A: This year will be full of new challenges for me, including the release of "Face." I'm focusing solely on the album for now. But I'm thinking about how I can show different sides of myself, and have many things in the works. I also don't have any hobbies I can talk about, so I'd like to find one.

Q: How do you think solo activities by BTS members will help the group in the future?

A: When I see what the other members are doing, I'm amazed by just how different we all are. Making my solo album made me realize how much I relied on other members on certain things. I faced deep dilemmas about music as well. I think the other members are experiencing similar things, which will help generate great synergy when we come back together as a group.

Q: What are your thoughts on the influence you and BTS have?

A: It's all thanks to our fans. They not only loved our music, but they translated our songs from Korean and requested them on American radio stations, which allowed us to reach a wider audience.

If we have any influence, it's thanks to everyone who has supported us. So I strongly feel that we should do our best to not let any of that go to waste.

Q: K-pop is now recognized as its own genre across the world. Why has it appealed to so many people?

A: That's a really difficult question. As one of the people making the music, it's hard for me to look at it objectively.

But I am touched to see so many people love and enjoy K-pop across borders and language barriers. I hope that K-pop will continue to show us the power of music. BTS, including myself, will keep doing our best to be at the center of that.

Q: Do you have a message for your fans in Japan?

A: Hi, it's Jimin of BTS. We haven't been able to see each other for so long, but your support has helped me bounce back from difficult moments many times. I will do everything I can to make better music so I can help during your hard times. I'm also grateful for you and I love you.

Source: Nikkei Asia

[btsx50states]

From @/NikkeiAsia on Twitter:

Jimin, a member of the K-pop group BTS, talks about the creative muses that went into his new album in an interview with Nikkei.

[memenewsdotcom]

Nikkei 225 hits record high

[uniqueeval]

Japan Tankan, Powell inflation comments, Golden Week

Commercial and residential buildings in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets are mixed on Tuesday, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated the recent outsized cuts enacted by the U.S. central bank should not be interpreted as a sign that future moves will be as aggressive. “This is not a committee…

[fannyjemwong]

REVISTA ORIENTAL (ENERO)

REVISTA ORIENTAL Adjuntamos el link para leer la revista Oriental, en su versión digital del mes de enero 2024 / Especial por el Año Nuevo Lunar Chino “Año del Dragón de Madera” https://indd.adobe.com/view/7e675a1e-b8d7-4196-aca2-84cc076bbf7c Para leerlo colocar el cursor sobre el link y apretar la techa Ctrl y hacer click En versión PDF, abrir el link y en la parte inferior hay una nube con…

[vikartaa]

Asia markets open mixed, EV maker shares resume selloff amid Tesla's slowdown warning

Commercial and residential buildings at dusk in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Friday as investors digested inflation data from Tokyo. Shares of electric vehicle makers in the region dropped for a second day, unable to shrug off worries sparked by bellwether Tesla’s slowdown warning. Hong Kong-listed shares of Xpeng and…

[wpristav]

Nikkei Asia утверждает, будто бы президент Путин сказал Си Цзиньпину на встрече в марте 2023 года, что Россия будет воевать на Украине пять лет

Японский новостной журнал Nikkei Asia, ссылаясь на неназванные источники, пишет, что якобы во время встречи лидеров России и Китая в Москве в марте этого года Владимир Путин сказал Си Цзиньпину, что «Россия будет воевать на Украине по крайней мере пять лет».При этом японское издание отмечает, что эти слова были сказаны российским президентом в контексте своего обращения к Си с просьбой «не менять ... Читать дальше »

[werr455]

Asia markets decline as investors assess Japan's inflation; Evergrande bankruptcy file in China

36 minutes ago Philippine central bank governor says there is room for further rate hikes The head of the Philippine central bank said there is room for further interest rate hikes without hurting economic growth. “I think we have room to go hiking without shrinking the economy,” Eli Rimolona, ​​governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, told CNBC. The Philippine central bank left its benchmark…

[mrbilge]

NIKKEI225 20.07.2023

Taisei Corporation (TYO: 1801) +2.29% - is a Japanese corporation founded in 1873. Its main areas of business are building construction, civil engineering, and real estate development.

Hoya Corporation (TYO: 7741) -4.22% - is a Japanese manufacturer of optical products such as photomasks, photomask blanks, and hard disk drive platters for the health-care market, contact lenses and eyeglass lenses for the health-care market, medical photonics, lasers, photographic filters, medical flexible endoscopic equipment, and software.

Find out more about NIKKEI225 constituents performance.

[niveditaabaidya]

Japan's Nikkei At 33 Year High. #japan #asia #china #nikkei #finance #ne...

[fuzzytimes1]

Adani China returns from New Year, CSI 300, New Zealand trade

Adani Enterprises is ticking higher while the group’s subsidiaries continue to plummet shares of Adani company Soared 10% after posting sharp losses in previous sessions as its chief financial officer expressed confidence in its subsequent public offering, which is due to close on Jan. 31. The stock is still down more than 20% in the first month of the year. ‘It will probably take a decade’ for…

[writingwithcolor]

What Makes an Ethnic Villain "Ethnic" or "Villainous?" How Do You Offset it?

anonymous asked:

Hello WWC! I have a question about the antagonist of my story. She is (currently) Japanese, and I want to make sure I’m writing her in a way that doesn’t associates [sic] her being Asian with being villainous.  The story is set in modern day USA, this character is effectively immortal. She was a samurai who lost loved ones due to failure in combat, and this becomes her character[sic] motivation (portrayed sympathetically to the audience). This story explores many different time periods and how women have shown valor throughout history. The age of the samurai (and the real and legendary female warriors from it) have interested me the most, which is why I want her to be from this period.  The outfit she wears while fighting is based on samurai armor, and she wears modern and traditional Japanese fashion depending on the occasion. She acts pretty similar to modern day people, though more cynical and obsessed with her loss. She’s been able to adapt with the times but still highly values and cherishes her past.  She is the only Asian main character, but I plan to make a supportive Japanese side character. She’s a history teacher who knows about the villain and gives the protagonists information to help them, but isn’t involved in the main plot otherwise.  Are the way I’m writing this villain and the inclusion of a non-antagonist Japanese character enough to prevent a harmful reading of the story, or is there more I should do?

Why Does Your Villain Exist?

This makes me feel old because David Anders plays a villain with this kind of backstory in the series Heroes starring Masi Oka. 

I think you want to think about what you mean when you say: 

Villainous (In what way? To whom? To what end?)

Harmful (What tropes, narratives and implications are present?)

I’m relatively infamous in the mod circle for not caring too much about dimensions of “harm”. The concept is relative and varies widely between people and cultures. I don’t see much value in framing motivations around “What is less harmful?” I think for me, what matters more is: 

“What is more true?” 

“Are characteristics viewed as intrinsic to background, or the product of experiences and personal autonomy?”

“Will your portrayal resonate with a large audience?”

“What will resonate with the members of the audience who share the backgrounds your characters have?” 

This post offers additional questions you could ask yourself instead of “is this okay/not okay/harmful.” 

You could write a story where your antagonist is sly, sadistic, violent and cold-blooded. It may not be an interpretation that will make many Japanese from combat backgrounds feel seen or heard, but it’s not without precedent. These tropes have been weaponized against people of Japanese descent (Like Nikkei Japanese interned during World War II), but Japan also brutalized a good chunk of Asia during World War II. See Herge’s Tintin and The Blue Lotus for an example of a comic that accurately showcases the brutality of Japan’s colonization of Manchuria, but also is racist in terms of how Japanese characters are portrayed (CW: genocide, war, imperialism, racism).

You could also write a story where your character’s grief gives way to despair, and fuels their combat such that they are seen as calculating, frigid and deeply driven by revenge/ violence. This might make sense. It’s also been done to death for Japanese female warriors, though (See “Lady Snowblood” by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura here, CW: sexual assault, violence, murder and a host of other dark things you’d expect in a revenge story). 

You could further write a story where your antagonist is not necessarily villainous, but the perceived harm comes from fetishizing/ exoticizing elements in how her appearance is presented or how she is sexualized, which is a common problem for Japanese female characters. 

My vote always goes to the most interesting story or character. I don’t see any benefit to writing from a defensive position. This is where I'll point out that, culturally, I can't picture a Japanese character viewing immortality as anything other than a curse. Many cultures in Japan are largely defined by transience and the understanding that many things naturally decay, die, and change form.

There are a lot of ways you could conceivably cause harm, but I’d rather hear about what the point of this character is given the dilemma of their position. 

What is her purpose for the plot? 

How is she designed to make the reader feel? 

What literary devices are relevant to her portrayal?

(Arbitrarily, you can always add more than 1 extra Japanese character. I think you might put less pressure on yourself with this character’s portrayal if you have more Japanese characters to practice with in general.) 

- Marika. 

When Off-Setting: Aim for Average

Seconding the above with regards to this villainess’s story and your motivations for this character, but regardless of her story I think it’s also important to look specifically at how the Japanese teacher character provides contrast. 

I agree with the choice to make her a regular person and not a superhero. Otherwise, your one Asian character is aggressively Asian-themed in a stereotypical Cool Japan way (particularly if her villain suit is samurai-themed & she wears wafu clothing every so often). Adding a chill person who happens to be Japanese and doesn’t have some kind of ninja or kitsune motif will be a breath of fresh air (well, more like a sigh of relief) for Japanese readers. 

A note on characterization—while our standard advice for “offset” characters is to give your offset character the opposite of the personality trait you’re trying to balance, in this case you might want to avoid opposites. You have a villainess who is a cold, tough “don’t need no man” type. Making the teacher mild-mannered, helpful, and accomodating would balance out the villainess’s traits, but you’ll end up swinging to the other side of the pendulum towards the Submissive Asian stereotype depending on execution. If avoiding stereotypes is a concern, I suggest picking something outside of that spectrum of gentleness to violence and making her really boring or really weird or really nerdy or a jock gym teacher or…something. You’re the author.

Similarly, while the villainess is very traditionally Japanese in her motifs and backstory, don’t make the teacher go aggressively in either direction—give her a nice balance of modern vs. traditional, Japanese vs. Western sensibilities as far as her looks, dress, interests, values, etc. Because at the end of the day, that’s most modern Japanese people. 

Sometimes, the most difficult representation of a character of color is making a character who is really average, typical, modern, and boring. 

- Rina

[mariacallous]

Shortly before noon on Aug. 19, 2023, a Russian cruise missile sliced past the golden onion domes and squat apartment blocks of the Chernihiv skyline in northern Ukraine. The Iskander-K missile slammed into its target: the city’s drama theater, which was hosting a meeting of drone manufacturers at the time of the attack. More than 140 people were injured and seven killed. The youngest, 6-year-old Sofia Golynska, had been playing in a nearby park.

Fragments of the missile recovered by the Ukrainian armed forces and analyzed by Ukrainian researchers found numerous components made by U.S. manufacturers in the missile’s onboard navigation system, which enabled it to reach its target with devastating precision. In December, Ukraine’s state anti-corruption agency released an online database of the thousands of foreign-made components recovered from Russian weapons so far.

Russia’s struggle to produce the advanced semiconductors, electrical components, and machine tools needed to fuel its defense industrial base predates the current war and has left it reliant on imports even amid its estrangement from the West. So when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, major manufacturing countries from North America, Europe, and East Asia swiftly imposed export controls on a broad swath of items deemed critical for the Russian arms industry.

Russia quickly became the world’s most sanctioned country: Some 16,000 people and companies were subject to a patchwork of international sanctions and export control orders imposed by a coalition of 39 countries. Export restrictions were painted with such a broad brush that sunglasses, contact lenses, and false teeth were also swept up in the prohibitions. Even items manufactured overseas by foreign companies are prohibited from being sold to Russia if they are made with U.S. tools or software, under a regulation known as the foreign direct product rule.

But as the war reaches its two-year anniversary, export controls have failed to stem the flow of advanced electronics and machinery making their way into Russia as new and convoluted supply chains have been forged through third countries such as Kazakhstan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, which are not party to the export control efforts. An investigation by Nikkei Asia found a tenfold increase in the export of semiconductors from China and Hong Kong to Russia in the immediate aftermath of the war—the majority of them from U.S. manufacturers.

“Life finds a way,” said a senior U.S. intelligence official, quoting the movie Jurassic Park. The official spoke on background to discuss Russia’s evasion of export controls.

Some of the weapons and components analyzed by investigators were likely stockpiled before the war. But widely available Russian trade data reveals a brisk business in imports. More than $1 billion worth of advanced semiconductors from U.S. and European manufacturers made their way into the country last year, according to classified Russian customs service data obtained by Bloomberg. A recent report by the Kyiv School of Economics found that imports of components considered critical for the battlefield had dipped by just 10 percent during the first 10 months of 2023, compared with prewar levels.

This has created a Kafkaesque scenario, the report notes, in which the Ukrainian army is doing battle with Western weapons against a Russian arsenal that also runs on Western components.

It is an obvious problem, well documented by numerous think tank and media reports, but one without an easy solution. Tracking illicit trade in items such as semiconductors is an exponentially greater challenge than monitoring shipments of conventional weapons. Around 1 trillion chips are produced every year. Found in credit cards, toasters, tanks, missile systems, and much, much more, they power the global economy as well as the Russian military. Cutting Russia out of the global supply chain for semiconductors is easier said than done.

“Both Russia and China, and basically all militaries, are using a large number of consumer electronic components in their systems,” said Chris Miller, the author of Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology. “All of the world’s militaries rely on the same supply chain, which is the supply chain that primarily services consumer electronics.”

Export controls were once neatly tailored to keep specific items, such as nuclear technology, out of the hands of rogue states and terrorist groups. But as Washington vies for technological supremacy with Beijing while also seeking to contain Russia and Iran, it has increasingly used these trade restrictions to advance broader U.S. strategic objectives. For instance, the Biden administration has placed wide-ranging prohibitions on the export of advanced chips to China.

“At no point in history have export controls been more central to our collective security than right now,” Matthew Axelrod, the assistant secretary for export enforcement at the U.S. Commerce Department, said in a speech last September. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has described export controls as “a new strategic asset in the U.S. and allied toolkit.”

Russia’s ability to defy these restrictions doesn’t just have implications for the war in Ukraine. It also raises significant questions about the challenge ahead vis-à-vis China.

“The technological question becomes a key part of this story and whether or not we can restrict it from our adversaries,” said James Byrne, the director of open-source intelligence and analysis at the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank.

In the Russian city of Izhevsk, home to the factory that manufactures Kalashnikov rifles, shopping malls are being converted into drone factories amid a surge in defense spending that has helped the country’s economy weather its Western estrangement. Arms manufacturers have been urged to work around the clock to feed the Russian war machine, while defense is set to account for one-third of the state budget this year.

“We have developed a concept to convert shopping centers—which, before the start of the SMO [special military operation], sold mainly the products of Western brands—to factories for assembly lines of types of domestic drones,” Alexander Zakharov, the chief designer of the Zala Aero drone company, said at a closed event in August 2022, according to the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti. “Special military operation” is what the Russian government calls its war on Ukraine. Zala Aero is a subsidiary of the Kalashnikov Concern that, along with Zakharov, was sanctioned by the United States last November.

Defense companies have bought at least three shopping malls in Izhevsk to be repurposed for the manufacture of drones, according to local media, including Lancet attack drones, which the British defense ministry described as one of the most effective new weapons that Russia introduced to the battlefield last year. Lancets, which cost about $35,000 to produce, wreaked havoc during Ukraine’s offensive last year and have been captured on video striking valuable Ukrainian tanks and parked MiG fighter jets.

Like a lot of Russia’s weapons systems, Lancets are filled with Western components. An analysis of images of the drones published in December by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security found that they contained several parts from U.S., Swiss, and Czech manufacturers, including image processing and analytical components that play a pivotal role in enabling the drones to reach their targets on the battlefield.

“The recurring appearance of these Western products in Russian drone systems shows a keen dependence on them for key capabilities in the drone systems,” the report notes. Lancets are not the only drones found to contain Western components. Almost all of the electronic components in the Iranian Shahed-136 drones, which Russia is now manufacturing with Iranian help to use in Ukraine, are of Western origin, a separate analysis published in November concluded.

Early in the war, the Royal United Services Institute analyzed 27 Russian military systems, including cruise missiles, electronic warfare complexes, and communications systems, and found that they contained at least 450 foreign-made components, revealing Russia’s dependence on imports.

One of the principal ways that Russia has evaded Western export controls has been through transshipment via third countries such as Turkey, the UAE, and neighboring states once part of the Soviet Union. Bloomberg reported last November that amid mounting Western pressure, the UAE had agreed to restrict the export of sensitive goods to Russia and that Turkey was considering a similar move. Kazakh officials announced a ban on the export of certain battlefield goods to Russia in October.

Suspected transshipment is often revealed by striking changes in trade patterns before and after the invasion. The Maldives, an island chain in the Indian Ocean that has no domestic semiconductor industry, shipped almost $54 million worth of U.S.-made semiconductors to Russia in the year after the invasion of Ukraine, Nikkei Asia reported last July.

Semiconductor supply chains often span several countries, with chips designed in one country and manufactured in another before being sold to a series of downstream distributors around the world. That makes it difficult for companies to know the ultimate end user of their products. This may seem odd—until you realize that this is the case for many everyday products that are sold around the world. “When Coca-Cola sells Coca-Cola, it doesn’t know where every bottle goes, and they don’t have systems to track where every bottle goes,” said Kevin Wolf, a former assistant secretary for export administration at the U.S. Commerce Department.

While a coalition of 39 countries, including the world’s major manufacturers of advanced electronics, imposed export restrictions on Russia, much of the rest of the world continues to trade freely with Moscow. Components manufactured in coalition countries will often begin their journey to Moscow’s weapons factories through a series of entirely legal transactions before ending up with a final distributor that takes them across the border into Russia. “It starts off as licit trade and ends up as illicit trade,” said a second senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The further items move down the supply chain, the less insight governments and companies have into their ultimate destination, although sudden changes in behavior of importers can offer a red flag. In his speech last September, Axelrod, the assistant secretary, used the example of a beauty salon that suddenly starts to import electronic components.

But the Grand Canyon of loopholes is China, which has stood by Moscow since the invasion. In the first days of the war, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned that Washington could shut down Chinese companies that ignored semiconductor export controls placed on Russia. Last October, 42 Chinese companies were added to export control lists—severely undercutting their ability to do business with U.S. companies—for supplying Russian defense manufacturers with U.S. chips.

But as the Biden administration carefully calibrates its China policy in a bid to keep a lid on escalating tensions, it has held off from taking Beijing to task. “I think the biggest issue is that we—the West—have been unwilling to put pressure on China that would get China to start enforcing some of these rules itself,” said Miller, the author of Chip Wars.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) said: “Due to the restrictions imposed by the United States and key allies and partners, Russia has been left with no choice but to spend more, lower its ambitions for high-tech weaponry, build alliances with other international pariah states, and develop nefarious trade networks to covertly obtain the technologies it needs.

“We are deeply concerned regarding [Chinese] support for Russia’s defense industrial base. BIS has acted to add over 100 [China]-based entities to the Entity List for supporting Russia’s military industrial base and related activities.”

Export controls have typically focused on keeping specific U.S.-made goods out of the hands of adversaries, while economic and financial sanctions have served broader foreign-policy objectives of isolating rogue states and cauterizing the financing of terrorist groups and drug cartels. The use of sanctions as a national security tool grew in wake of the 9/11 attacks; in the intervening decades, companies, government agencies, and financial institutions have built up a wealth of experience in sanctions compliance. By contrast, the use of export controls for strategic ends is relatively novel, and compliance expertise is still in its infancy.

“It used to be that people like me could keep export controls and sanctions in one person’s head. The level of complexity for each area of law is so intense. I don’t know anyone who is truly an export control and sanctions expert,” Wolf said.

Export controls, experts say, are at best speed bumps designed to make it harder for Russia’s defense industrial base to procure Western components. They create “extra friction and pressure on the Russian economy,” said Daniel Fried, who as the State Department coordinator for sanctions policy helped craft U.S. sanctions on Russia after its annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russia is now paying 80 percent more to import semiconductors than it did before the war, according to forthcoming research by Miller, and the components it is able to acquire are often of dubious quality.

But although it may be more cumbersome and expensive, it’s a cost that Moscow has been willing to bear in its war on Ukraine.

Western components—and lots of them—will continue to be found in the weapons Russia uses on Ukraine’s battlefields for the duration of the war. “This problem is as old as export controls are,” said Jasper Helder, an expert on export controls and sanctions with the law firm Akin Gump. But there are ways to further plug the gaps.

Steeper penalties could incentivize U.S. companies to take a more proactive role in ensuring their products don’t wind up in the hands of the Russian military, said Elina Ribakova, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “At the moment, they’re not truly motivated,” she said.

Companies that run afoul of sanctions and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. federal law that prohibits the payment of bribes, have been fined billions of dollars. Settlements of export control violations are often an order of magnitude smaller, according to recently published research.

In a speech last month, Axelrod said the United States would begin issuing steeper penalties for export control violations. “Build one case against one of the companies extremely well, put out a multibillion-dollar fine negotiation, and watch everybody else fall in line,” Ribakova said.

And then there’s the question of resources. BIS has an annual budget of just $200 million. “That’s like the cost of a few fighter jets. Come on,” said Raimondo, speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum last December.

The agency’s core budget for export control has, adjusted for inflation, remained flat since 2010, while its workload has surged. Between 2014 and 2022, the volume of U.S. exports subject to licensing scrutiny increased by 126 percent, according to an agency spokesperson. A 2022 study of export control enforcement by the Center for Strategic and International Studies recommended a budget increase of $45 million annually, describing it as “one of the best opportunities available anywhere in U.S. national security.”

When it comes to enforcement, the bureau has about 150 officers across the country who work with law enforcement and conduct outreach to companies. The Commerce Department has also established a task force with the Justice Department to keep advanced technologies out of the hands of Russia, China, and Iran. “The U.S. has the most robust export enforcement on the planet,” Wolf said.

But compared with other law enforcement and national security agencies, the bureau’s budgets have not kept pace with its expanding mission. The Department of Homeland Security has more investigators in the city of Tampa, Florida, than BIS does across the entire country, Axelrod noted in his January speech.

On the other side, you have Russia, which is extremely motivated to acquire the critical technologies it needs to continue to prosecute its war. The Kremlin has tasked its intelligence agencies with finding ways around sanctions and export controls, U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson said in a speech last year. “We are not talking about a profit-seeking firm looking for efficiencies,” the second senior U.S. intelligence official said. “There will be supply if there is sufficient demand.”